Fuck David Kleinfeld

I visited Rikers Island today for the first time.

This is what I experienced:

1. The song "Chocolate Rain" was playing as I walked into a housing unit. My first thought was to talk to an inmate sitting on the floor and ask "Who the fuck is playing Tay Zonday??" Surreal moment one.

2. I didn't really get any cat calls from the female prisoners. To my credit, I didn't really see that many.

3. I went to the PC [Protective Custody] unit. I saw a white boy with a swastika tattoo on his chest. No wonder he's in PC. The Bloods would kick the shit out of him in gen pop.

4. I also saw an inmate whose case I worked on a few months ago at the DA's office. He was watching TV in a special cell. Surreal moment number two. I wonder why this King is in PC. Is he snitching?

5. Went to the psych ward. They all seem heavily sedated. This big one told me that I wasn't gonna get hurt.

5.1. Walked through the housing complex at the psych ward. Felt an undeniable wave of empathy. We are all God's children. Wish I had the courage to tell them what was on my mind: "God loves you."

6. Went to the adolescent jail. Watched them walk to GED class. Surreal moment three. Baby faced children with massive shoulders.

7. Went to the commissary. It's more well-stocked than I thought. They can buy 2-liter Pepsis, Doritos, Tuna, Clams, Batteries, Nutri Grain bars. You name it.

8. Rikers Island--which isn't a state prison--is the second largest prison system in the country.

9. Went to the maternity ward. Surreal moment 4. Convict mother raising her twins. She looked so hard...until she focused on her son. It was an amazing dichotomy.